SOLIDWORKS: Lesson III

– Patterns & Mirrors

UCF Engineering

Solidworks Review

� Last lesson we discussed several more

features that can be added to models in order

to increase their complexity.

� We are now going to discuss several ways

that SolidWorks can allow us to create

properly designed models both easier and

faster.

Patterns

� The first feature that we are going to discuss is patterns.

� Patterns can be placed in two ways: Linear � Patterns can be placed in two ways: Linear Patterns, or Circular Patterns.

� Although both are creating “copies” of an existing feature, the method that they do this is what distinguishes them.

Linear Pattern

A linear pattern creates a copy of a feature

similar to a grid:

Linear patternTo define a linear pattern, you must specify the

direction of the patterns, (up to 2 directions), the number of copies in each direction, and the distance between copies.

Linear PatternLets take a look at how we can pattern a simple feature using

the linear patterning command…

Let’s begin by creating a

NEW PART!

Begin by choosing

�Extruded Boss/Base

�TOP PLANE

�Draw a rectangle on the

plane that is 2x1using the

origin as a starting point

�Exit the sketchDraw your sketch by starting on the origin

Linear Pattern

Since we originally used Extrude let’s enter 0.05

for the depth and click the green check.

Linear PatternLet’s do an EXTRUDED CUT on the top surface of our part.

Click Extruded cut, then choose the TOP surface. Change view to NORMAL TO.

Choose CIRCLE

Linear PatternChoose SMART DIMENSION,

then click on the origin of the circle then the origin of the sketch in the bottom left. Drag the dimension so that it becomes a VERTICAL dimension and enter 0.25. dimension and enter 0.25. Do the same for the HORIZONTAL. Then dimension the diameter by simply clicking on the circumference. Enter 0.20.

Linear PatternExit the sketch to see the hole as a

CUT. In property manager choose

under DIRECTION choose

THROUGH ALL.

Click the green check to see our hole.

Linear PatternSelect the CUT by either selecting the Cut-Extrude choice in

FEATURE MANAGER or simply click on the cut in the design and it should highlight.

Choose LINEAR PATTERN

from the dynamic toolbar.

Linear PatternYou will notice that the extruded

cut we made shows up in property

manager as a feature we want to

pattern.

Then above in the DIRECTION we

notice it is blank, so highlight this

area, then select the bottom

horizontal edge to the top face of horizontal edge to the top face of

our rectangle.

Linear PatternIn property manager, enter 0.5

for the distance and 4 for the # of instances you want if it isn’t already chosen for you.

Linear PatternFor Direction 2, highlight the area and

choose the left edge of the rectangle. Enter 0.4 for the distance and 2 for the # of instances. Click OK in property manager to see the final pattern

Linear PatternSuppose you discover you made a mistake in the diameter of

the circle. Double Click on the original feature then change

the dimension of the diameter.

Double click on the dimension to change it to 0.30. Click OK, then OK in

property manager. Be sure to click the stoplight to re-build the part.

Circular PatternThe circular pattern is very similar to the linear,

however, instead of patterning along two dimensions, it patterns about an axis.

Circular PatternFor a circular pattern, you must define the axis

of revolution, the total revolution angle, and the number of copies to make.

Circular PatternLets take a look at how we can

pattern a simple feature using the circular patterning command…

Let’s begin by:� Create a New Part� Choose Extruded Boss/Base� Choose Top Plane to sketch � Choose Top Plane to sketch

on� Make a Circle with the origin of

the sketch as the origin of the circle

� Dimension the circle so that the diameter is 1

� Exit the sketch� Extrude the circle to 0.05

Circular PatternLet’s now make an extruded

cut on the top face of the circle. Choose Extruded Cut, select the top plane and change view to “normal to”.

Draw a circle vertically above the origin. You will see a the origin. You will see a vertical line to assist you in centering the line properly. Dimension the circle so that it is 0.25 away from the origin of our cylindrical base with a diameter of 0.2.

Circular Pattern

Now you may notice that our

small circular sketch is

under defined. Even though

we placed it vertically above

the origin we really haven’t

defined it as such. Click on

the origin of the small circle, the origin of the small circle,

hold down CTRL, then

select the origin of our

base. Add a vertical relation

to these points in property

manager.

Circular Pattern

Exit the sketch, change your view to isometric, then choose “through all” in the direction section of property manager to finish the manager to finish the cut.

Circular Pattern

To make a circular pattern we

need an axis of revolution.

We know it is the center of

our base but we can’t see

the axis. To see this axis,

choose VIEW at the top choose VIEW at the top

then choose “temporary

axis”

You probably won’t see the

axis unless you ZOOM in to

look at the origin.

Circular Pattern

Click on the feature you want

to pattern either by clicking

on the feature in feature

manager or clicking on the

feature in the design.

Click on circular pattern ( you

may need to expand your

button by clicking on the

small arrow on the right of

the toolbar).

Circular PatternYou should see that in property

manager that the axis space is highlighted. Choose the axis at the center of your design as you want the pattern to revolve around that axis.

You can now make your pattern TWO different ways. If “equal spacing” is checked simply specify the number of patterns you want.

Or you can uncheck “equal spacing” and specify the number of patterns as well as the angle between them.

Click “Equal Spacing” and make 5 copies! Click OK to exit property manager

Circular Pattern

If you need to change anything, you can simply click on the feature, click on

the dimension you want to change such as the radius of the cut or its

dimension from the axis. Then click the stoplight button to re-build the part.

Mirrors� Mirroring is another way that SolidWorks can

create a “copy” of a feature.

� When mirroring, you must choose a feature

to mirror, and a plane to mirror about.to mirror, and a plane to mirror about.

Mirrors

� Oftentimes the plane that you wish to mirror

about is not one of the standard planes (front,

top, or right).

� To create a new plane, you must use the

Features > Reference Geometry > Plane

command to define a new reference plane.

MirrorsLets take a look at how we can copy a

simple feature using the mirror command…

Make a new part.Choose:� Extruded Boss/Base� Choose Top Plane� Make a rectangle with the ORIGIN

at the middle.

To ensure that the origin is at the center of our rectangle we must make sure that the origin lies on a line that lines up with the MIDPOINT of each edge of our rectangle.

RIGHT CLICK on the top horizontal line of our rectangle and CHOOSE MIDPOINT

MirrorsClick on the MIDPOINT, hold

CTRL, and select the origin. In property add the relation, VERTICAL.

Mirrors

Right click on a vertical edge to select the MIDPOINT. Hold CTRL, select the origin, then add the relation HORIZONTAL in property manager.

Mirrors

Exit the sketch, change view to

isometric and extrude to

some distance.

Click on extruded boss/base Click on extruded boss/base

and choose the top surface

of your rectangular cube

and change the view to

“normal to”. Draw a simple

triangle using “line”, on the

surface

MirrorsExit the sketch and switch your view

to isometric. Extrude the triangle to a depth of 0.02, then click ok to see the extruded triangular feature.

Mirror

So if we want to mirror this triangle, we simply click on the feature in feature manager or the part in our design.

From the dynamic toolbar choose MIRROR

Mirror In property manager, we see it is asking for

a mirror face or plane. In our design

field, we see our part which we can

expand to view various things. Expand

and select right plane as this is the

plane we want to mirror about. Notice

that this plane is right on our origin.

MirrorYou should see a preview

of the mirror. Click OK in property manager to finish the mirror.

Patterns and Mirrors

� This is all well and good, but couldn’t we

simply have drawn all of these patterned or

mirrored features ourselves?

� Yes, we could have, but there are several

major advantages to creating the copies in

the proper fashion.

Patterns and Mirrors

� First, and probably the most obvious, is that it

saves time; drawing all of those copied

features can be quite time consuming and

there is no reason to do it if we don’t have to.there is no reason to do it if we don’t have to.

� Second, and most importantly, is that if you

change the original feature in a pattern or

mirror, all of the children also change.

Patterns and Mirrors

� Performing patterns and mirrors properly is

an important part of maintaining design intent

� If the features in your part are intended to be � If the features in your part are intended to be

the same, then it is important that your

modeling practice reflects that.

Solidworks Exercise

Lets use what we have learned to model the

following part:

Solidworks ExerciseIt is always useful to think about HOW you might design this part.

Upon inspection we see that this is basically 3 rectangles. One front plate with 2 side plates. You might notice that the side plates are symmetrical about the center plate. So we can use mirror to build one side. We can use pattern, to place the smaller holes on the front plate.

Solidworks ExerciseRight click on the part in

feature manager and choose DOCUMENT PROPERTIES. Lets click UNITS and change the units to IPS to dimension the part in INCHES.

Solidworks Exercise

Let’s begin by selecting a NEW PART, then extruded boss base. Choose the FRONT PLANE. Change view to normal to if not to normal to if not already seen.

Solidworks Exercise

Begin by drawing a rectangle about the origin. Add relations to the rectangle edges of vertical and horizontal vertical and horizontal using midpoints and the origin. See slides 28-30 to remember how to do this.

Solidworks Exercise

Dimension the rectangle according to our original design sketch. We see the bottom edge is 5 inches and a side is 4 inches.side is 4 inches.

Exit the sketch, and extrude the part according to the design, which is 0.3.

Solidworks Exercise

Now lets add the circle in the middle. Choose Extruded CUT, choose top face, change view to normal to. Place a to normal to. Place a circle using the origin to begin and dimension the circle with a diameter of 2.40 in.

Solidworks ExerciseExit the sketch, then change to

isometric view to see the 3D

design. Choose “through

all” in property manager to

extrude the cut.

Solidworks Exercise

Now lets pattern the outer circles. Choose Extruded CUT, the top face, change view to normal view. Place a normal view. Place a circle in the bottom right corner and dimension with a radius of 0.4 in.

Solidworks ExerciseWe need this circle to be at an angle of

45 degrees to the vertical. One way to do this is to use a centerline. Choose Centerline and draw a line from the origin to the center of our small circle. Draw a second center line from the origin straight down. Make sure you see 90 degrees as well as a vertical line icon.well as a vertical line icon.

Solidworks Exercise

Lets dimension the centerline

from the origin to our circle

as 1.90 or you can enter

3.80/2 .

Then you can dimension the

ANGLE. Click on your first ANGLE. Click on your first

centerline, then click the

second centerline and the

angle will appear. Change

this to 45 degrees.

Solidworks Exercise

Exit the sketch, switch view to isometric and extrude the cut using “through all”. Click OK in property manager to in property manager to see the result.

Solidworks ExerciseEnable your temporary axis

(Choose view at top). Then select the feature you want to pattern, which was our small circle.

Click CIRCULAR PATTERN. In property manager, the axis field is highlighted so axis field is highlighted so choose the temporary axis you made at the origin

Make 4 instances for 4 holes, then click OK.

Solidworks Exercise

Now we have 4 equally spaced holes.

Solidworks ExerciseNow lets make our side which we will

mirror. Choose Extruded Boss Base and choose the right side face.

One thing that may be useful is using the GRID. To see the grid, right click out in the design field and choose it. It helps you visualize WHERE you are sketching.

Solidworks Exercise

Turn off the grid and change your view to “normal to”.

Using the line tool, sketch the basic shape. Hit escape to get out of the line tool.

Solidworks Exercise

Now lets dimension the shape according to our original design.

We also need 3 circles. We also need 3 circles. So add 3 circle in the general area.

Solidworks ExerciseTo dimension the circle

we can select ALL by holding down CTRL. Then add the relation EQUAL. The diameter of the circles are 0.40. Finish the dimensioning then exit the sketch and switch to isometric view.

Solidworks ExerciseClick on the button for BLIND

to reverse the direction of

the EXTRUDE. We want to

extrude inward!!! You

should see the arrow switch

to inward.

Extrude the selection to 0.3 also

so that the thickness is the same

as the front piece.

Click OK in property manager.

Solidworks ExerciseYou should now see your finished

side panel.

Now click on the new extruded side in feature manager. Next choose MIRROR. Expand the part in the DESIGN FIELD, chose right plane.

Solidworks ExerciseThe last thing we need to do is FILLET the

front edges. Hold down CTRL and select

the OUTER and INNER edges.

Select 0.5 inches Select 0.5 inches

for the radius.

Then Click OK.

Solidworks Exercise